Dana Killmeyer Brings Poetry To Las Vegas Public Buses

Dana Killmeyer wants to bring a little culture to those riding the bus in Las Vegas. So the Masters in Fine Arts student at UNLV gets on an RTC, whether it’s the Deuce on the Strip or route 109 on Maryland Parkway, and just starts reading poetry to her fellow passengers.

Besides sharing her love of poetry with others, Killmeyer is looking to engage with an audience that’s outside of the academic world.

“I take the bus a lot in Las Vegas,” Killmeyer said. “We bring poetry to a new audience.”

Killmeyer said there is a small community of poets in Las Vegas, and that most of the riders really appreciate their efforts.

“It usually is a positive experience,” Killmeyer told KNPR News.

While Killmeyer and her fellow poets have a captive and appreciative audience of bus riders, the RTC of Southern Nevada was less enthusiastic.

“When it comes to public transportation, safely transporting our customers … is our first priority,” said Sue Christiansen, government affairs, media and marketing representative with RTC. “In addition to safety, we expect passengers to be respectful to each other and the driver.”

Christiansen said while they haven’t received any complaints about the poetry readings, public transit riders need to respect each other.

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“If the poetry reading is distracting to a driver or other passenger requests that it discontinue, we may ask that Ms. Killmeyer respect that request,” Christiansen said.